Kansas City rebuilds after fatal shooting

By Juana Summers, Staff Writer
May 4, 2007

After a gunman shot four individuals, killing two, in a south Kansas City mall parking lot, the city is trying to begin healing and return to business as usual.

The Ward Parkway Shopping Center reopened on Tuesday, two days after the shooting. Thursday night, individuals gathered for a candlelight vigil in front of the center's main entrance.

In a news release issued by the shopping center, Chuck Oglesby said the vigil was organized in the hopes of re-establishing some sense of normalcy.

Additionally, Kansas City Mayor Mark Funkhouser said the media attention has allowed for a community discussion.

"I think that, as I said, as events unfold, and as we look at how this happened, I am sure that in our public safety and neighborhoods committee there will be some more discussion," Funkhouser said. "It resonates. People will remember and they will talk about it."

On April 29, a Sunday, David Logsdon was responsible for two separate shootings in the south Kansas City area. He had been living in the home of Kansas City resident Patricia Reed. Reed was his next-door neighbor, whom Kansas City Police said they believe Logsdon beat to death.

Before traveling to the shopping mall, Logsdon was pulled over by an officer. Logsdon fired several shots, one of which hit the officer in the arm.

Then he traveled north to the shopping mall, where he parked his car, killed two individuals in the parking lot and later entered the mall.

Logsdon was shot in the north end of the mall, near the interior entrance of Target, according to a news release issued by the Kansas City Police Department.

"David Logsdon had a plan," said Kansas City Police Chief James Corwin in a news conference on Monday.

Corwin commended the work of both officers involved with stopping, and ultimately killing, the gunman.

"They took a very bad situation and kept it from being an extremely bad situation," he said.

Kathy Cagg, David Logsdon's sister, spoke at a news conference on Monday and said alcoholism and mental health issues might have added to Logsdon's behavior.

"I wish that he'd been given the help that he truly needed," she said.

Logsdon had been taken to a mental hospital in 2005 as a suicide risk but was released almost immediately, Cagg said.

"Back in my days as a social worker, we called this kind of thing problems with daily living," Funkhouser said. "All of the various systems that were supposed to catch that didn't work."

Logsdon killed Leslie Ballew and Luke Nilges. Logsdon also shot a third person in the parking lot, but that person survived.

Nilges family released a statement yesterday regarding his death.

"We can't believe the impact of this senseless crime, which has affected our family, friends and the community and even the world," said Jason Nilges, Luke Nilges' brother.

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Kansas City rebuilds after fatal shooting

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